Cursed
by veridanna
Summary: AU off of episode 4.14 "The Curse". What if the Isis jar had been intact and had been opened first? (Characters: Isis, Sarah Gardner, Osiris, SG-1, Martouf Lantash.) Was supposed to be a oneshot ficlet but it's grown. Refer notes at the start of each chapter.
1. Chapter 1

AU off of episode 4.14 "The Curse". What if the Isis jar had been intact and had been opened first? Oneshot ficlet.

* * *

Isis had been furious when Ra had forced her into stasis; she was no less furious when she awoke. Shaking off the effects of the sedative she was immersed in, the darkness around her abruptly turned painfully light when the lid of her jar was finally lifted. She burst forth, screeching her indignation at the situation. In their natural form, goa'uld did not see particularly _well_ but in this case, Isis could see quite well enough; there was a human, a female human right in front of her. Not pausing to check further, Isis launched herself at her target.

Subduing her new host was harder than Isis expected; the creature was stronger in mind and will than the well indoctrinated slaves she was used to. But it did not matter; Isis was still far stronger and she walled out the creature's hysterics with the ease of long practice. Isis stretched slowly – oh, it was good to be free again. Looking down at the table where her jar had been, she was pleased to see a second jar. Checking it with great care, she smiled. Yes, Osiris was still with her. The jar was still intact, her lord was still alive.

She glanced around and frowned. This room was very strange – she assessed it for a moment and then reached into her host's memories. She was alternately amused and shocked as she assimilated the information. These humans – this planet had been left alone for _far_ too long. They had _forgotten_ their gods. For a moment, rage flooded her system. "How _dare_ they?" she whispered, clenching her hands until her nails drew blood from her palms. Looking down at the blood, she swore she would see this travesty of a world brought back into line.

Still… it would be a lot to do on her own. She needed her lord – her brother, her husband, and he would need a new host as well. Pacing as she thought, she decided she was pleased with the host she had… perhaps in her host's memories, she could find the right candidate for Osiris. Skimming those memories, she considered and then considered again. A few minutes was all it took and she had her choice. She could use this world's _telephone_ to summon him. Her host had his number – _she_ cared for him, even though she had pushed him away. Stupid, short-sighted humans! Isis picked up the phone and dialed the number. "Daniel? Daniel Jackson? It's Sarah Gardner."


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok, ok. It's become a two-shot because Osiris took up residence in MY head and wouldn't go away until I scribbled something down!_

 _For reference: I've set Isis and Osiris's escape from Earth as happening earlier than canon - it happens between ep 3.01 "Into The Fire Part 2" (where Hathor dies) and ep 3.02 "Seth". Due to Daniel being taken as Osiris, the events of 3.02 and beyond do not happen. This ficlet occurs on a planet that Osiris/Isis ruled before their imprisonment; while they were absent, Ra took tribute and the humans therefore kept the temple there in order. 'Philae' here refers to a jaffa world that was also originally ruled by Osiris/Isis and was held by Ra in between. When Ra was killed, it was abandoned and thus ripe for Osiris/Isis to reclaim._

 **Bold** = goa'uld talking.

* * *

Osiris lounged on his throne, a little smile on his face as he watched his kneeling prisoners. As he had instructed, they were all chained to one of the anchor points sunk in the floor; far enough apart they could not touch. It was definitely entertaining to watch their expressions – the not-quite-shock when the jaffa had escorted them in, the dismay, the anger, the emotional pain. It would be Jack who broke the silence he decided. The Tok'ra and the jaffa certainly wouldn't, and as for Sam… well, he –through his host - knew her too well to think she'd speak up before Jack.

"Is staring at us all you're going to do, _snake?_ "

Smirking openly, Osiris merely _hmmed_ in answer. He'd been right; it was Jack who said something first. He estimated it was about a half-and-half chance that Jack would keep talking versus Sam cracking.

"Daniel." It was barely a whisper, almost too soft to hear.

Ah well. The game was starting to bore him. **"Daniel isn't** ** _available_** **right now. No, not taking any messages for him either."**

Jack yanked on the damned chains, in a vain hope it might be less unbreakable than it looked. It wasn't. "Alright, alright, why don't you just get on with it?"

 **"Hmmm."** Osiris stood and walked to his host's best friend. Trailing his fingers – protected by the golden tips of his kara'kesh – across Jack's cheek, he leaned down just a little. **"Get on with it? Get on with** ** _what_** **exactly?"**

Jack's expression was almost as rigidly blank as Teal'c's, but the fury in his gaze as he looked back at the goa'uld behind Daniel's face was hot enough to burn. "Games, snaky-boy. Full of a whole lot of screaming."

 **"Tcha. So predictable, Jack."** He wandered along the line to Sam, absently brushing his hand over her hair while she froze. **"Unfortunately, I'm not going to play. Not today.** ** _Jaffa!_** **"** The last word was shouted and it brought a dozen of them forward. **"Remove those three – take them to the chaapa'ai. Wait."**

Osiris didn't watch as SG-1 was taken away; he was circling the Tok'ra instead. **"Lantash,"** he said softly. **"It was so** ** _very_** **good of you to visit."**

* * *

SG-1 were dragged out of Osiris's palace and endured nearly three hours in the heat. Teal'c did not appear to be affected but Jack and Sam had pounding headaches well before anything happened.

Osiris did not bother to look in SG-1's direction; he went straight to the dialing device and entered an address. **"Send them through,"** he ordered the jaffa indifferently. Once all three – still chained – were shoved through the event horizon, he pointed at the pile of weapons, radios, GDOs and supplies that had been stripped from them when they were captured. **"Toss all of that through. Set a heavier guard on the chaapa'ai; if any of them return, confine them and report at once."**

He went from there to the sacred lake behind the sanctuary of the temple and finding Isis, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. **"There is nothing wrong?"** he asked softly. **"The prim'ta?"**

Isis laughed softly and patted his cheek. **"They are well; there is nothing to be concerned with. With the ones Ra left on Philae to bridge the gap, our jaffa will not be left wanting."** She turned back to the water where her newest children resided and ruffled the surface with her fingers. Soft squeals sounded as several clustered around her. She hummed back and smiled beatifically for a moment before flicking her hand, shooing the infant goa'uld away. **"Who were the intruders?"**

 **"Tau'ri."** Osiris replied briefly. When Isis turned an admonitory look on him, he sighed and elaborated. **"SG-1, the former teammates of my host, along with one of the Tok'ra."**

Isis's forehead crinkled just a little. **"What did you do?"**

He snorted softly. "I tossed them back through the chaapa'ai. I do not imagine they will _like_ where I sent them, but they will survive. The Tok'ra is still chained in the courtyard."

 **"Was that wise?"**

 **"Which, the sending away SG-1 or the keeping of the Tok'ra?"** Osiris shook his head, an amused smile playing over his face. **"My host knew his team very well; should I eliminate them, the Tau'ri will merely send others, ones whose actions I cannot anticipate so readily. Besides, the longer they think they have a chance at rescuing their friend, the longer they will refrain from anything too aggressive."**

Isis just sighed. **"So, I must be patient?"**

He laughed and kissed her again. **"With Ra gone, we can afford the time, my love. And I will not risk** ** _you_** **."** He held her close, still revelling in being alive, awake and free. **"As for the Tok'ra… I hope he will be useful for there is no better information source we could have found on the System Lords. More than thousand years' worth! If I can cajole them into co-operating, it would be invaluable."**

 **"They are Egeria's children."** Isis reminded him mildly. **"She was the most stubborn child of mine ever spawned; if her offspring are still holding to her foolish choices so many centuries later, I find it hard to believe they can be diverted."**

He shrugged. **"There is little risk in trying.** **From all we have discerned so far, the System Lords have barely changed since Ra imprisoned us."**

 **"They have changed… for the worse."**

Osiris nodded soberly, his gaze unfocused as he contemplated that truth. **"The sarcophagus: it destroys the soul. And that is why I will not let us fail, my love."**


	3. Chapter 3

_I could delve into the mischief Isis is getting up to or the progress Osiris is making, but I decided to post a snippet of Jack and Sam because both Isis and Osiris are getting into M-rated territory right now. For the record, Isis and Osiris are not on the side of our heros. They're smart, rational (not crazy!), very nearly amoral, and not excessively egotistical. The most dangerous kind of bad guys, really..._

 _I've also switched it back to being incomplete. However, I have no grand plot and no story-worthy ending, just a collection of scenes. I'll post bits as long as the muse demands they be written but I make no promises as to where it will go and what happens to the characters._

* * *

 _In the commissary of the SGC..._

Sam was exhausted. After having to wait for her dad to show up and use a hand device to unlock the chains Osiris had put on them, they had intended to plan a rescue. Thus far, they had not had a chance because only a few hours after Jacob and Selmak had left, the attacks had begun. The incoming wormholes were not constant, but they were frequent and unpredictable. Sometimes, it was nothing more than something – thankfully non-organic – coming through and impacting the iris. At least once a day, it was some sort of sonic wave that drove everyone out of the gateroom and was only barely tolerable in the control room when all the blast doors were down. There had been energy bolts that had fried their power connections to the gate and redesigning the system so it didn't take three days to repair had cost Sam several sleepless nights. The computer virus that had been snuck in through the dialing computer's connection to the gate was the most recent difficulty and it had taken every tech on the base two days of work to clean it out and get essential systems back up. New safeguards had been designed and deployed but Sam wondered if they would be enough.

"Carter." Jack dropped into the seat opposite and gave her that look.

Sam tried to smile. "Sir?"

"If you're not going to eat that pie, I will."

Reflexively, Sam tugged the plate with the slice of peach-pie close to her and hopefully out of her CO's reach. "I am eating it!"

Jack pointed at it. "You haven't taken a single bite!"

Sam looked down. "Uh…" she hastily corrected this. "I have now?"

He shook his head sadly. "Carter… I'm going to have to echo the doc. You need to go to bed."

"Umm... and I will. Really. As soon as I finish eating."

Jack looked at the pie. "At the rate you're going, that'll take all day."

Sam sighed and shifted in her seat before managing another bite. "I can't help wondering how long before the next one."

Jack picked up a spare fork and swiped some pie. When Sam barely noticed, he frowned. "You _said_ there wasn't a pattern."

"There isn't."

"So, why stress over it?"

"Because we can't keep going like this, sir!" she finally snapped, pulling her plate away _again_ as she saw Jack reaching for it. "Three weeks, two days since my dad left and – and – we're…" Sam froze as something occurred to her. "It's harassment. He's not trying to attack earth – he's just trying to keep us busy. Too busy to come after him."

"Carter…"

"He knows we're not going to give up on rescuing Daniel, and he probably doesn't have the resources to mount a full blown attack. So he's set a small handful of jaffa the task of constantly dialing in and being a nuisance."

"Yeah. I know."

"Sir?"

" _I've_ not been buried in geeky fixes, Carter; I'd already figured it out. Teal'c and I have been spending the last week thinking about how to stop him, which is why there is an outgoing wormhole to the new Alpha site open right now with truckloads of supplies being put through. You can have a look at the plans and put in your two cents worth… as soon as you have had a decent sleep."

"Sir?"

Jack took the plate away. "Carter, this is an order. Go. To. Bed."


End file.
